Fox Children
by King Hawke
Summary: Someone dissects a fox demon kit. Kyuubi kills the ninja, fox clan attacks village, all get sealed into children. Rated M for gore and violence
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anyone in that universe. Or would I really be writing stories like this?

**Demon Talk will be like this. **

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The fiery red fox kit growls and snaps at the strange pale man. He checks the straps holding the fox down and coos, "Now, now, demon fox. You are going to help me with my immortality jutsu! You should be grateful to be part of my experiments!"

The fox growls louder, struggling under the restraints as the man reaches for a scalpel. He sighs, "I know this will be a very long and bloody process, but bear with me. I promise you will die before this is over."

The demon fox kit snarls, **"You are a dead man, ninja! Mom is going to tear you apart!!"** Unfortunately, the ninja cannot understand him. **"And you smell like snakes!!"**

"My name is Orochimaru," the man explains idly as he adjusts the dim light in the room onto the fox. "Welcome to Hell."

The fox snarls defiantly as the sharp metal scalpel nears him. The snarls quickly turn to yelps as the blade pierces his back. "I wonder what makes fox demons immortal," Orochimaru mutters curiously. He flicks the blade deeper into the young fox expertly, blood spurting out of the wound. "I really do hate a messy work place. I'm sure you understand," he smirks as he catches the blood in a container below the fox's operation table. The thick red fluid drips off the table into the container. "Very good."

Orochimaru slowly eases the scalpel through the fox's lung. The fox coughs up blood and growls, **"Mom is going to enjoy killing you, snake face." **The blade slices the lung cleanly in two.

"That should quiet you down a bit," Orochimaru says pleasantly. "I cannot stand noisy workplaces. They are distracting." Blood oozes from the wound as the blade is yanked out.

The tin pot slowly fills with blood as the fox squirms to get free. The man places the blade into a small dish of water to clean it and picks up a pair of scissors. "This should do nicely." He looks down at the fox. "I'm sorry if I bore you, but I have a tendency to ramble when I work. It's a bad habit, I know. I hope you don't mind." He grabs onto a small tuff of fox hair and pull it up off the leg. He slices away the skin until the fur comes off in a nice neat square. He places it onto a napkin and dabs up the blood coming from the new wound. The fox gasps as breathing becomes harder and from bloodloss. Pain fills the baby fox's eyes. **"Mom!!!" **he whimpers loudly.

_Several Miles Away:_

"**Jit? Where are you, Jit?" **Kyuubi calls as she looks around the forest. **"Son, this is no time to be playing hide and seek! We are near the human settlements!"**

When she receives no answer, she sniffs the ground and very slowly follows his scent.

_Back with Jit:_

Orochimaru takes out a kunai and cleanly slices off the ear of the fox. "I've always wondered how foxes perceive sound," he says absently as he examines the bloody ear. He places it aside with the other parts he amputated, placing each one into a small jar.

Taking out a small hacksaw, he slowly cuts through the thin muscle and into the bone of Jit's right back leg. He removes the leg and places it in a jar. All the baby fox can do is whimper and cry in agony, his body starting to shake from the shock.

The Snake Sannin takes a firm hold on the shivering tail and slices it off with a single chop, followed by a loud yelp. He holds it up and examines it in the light. "Stronger than most fox tails, but the bone is a lot denser. That might be the cause. I'll have to look into that later." He slides the tail into a long tube.

Smiling down at the fox, he says, "It's okay, fox demon. This will be over soon. I just need a few more samples.

He releases the fox from its restraints and flips it onto its back. He carefully reattaches the restraints around the remaining limbs. Jit glares pitifully at the ninja and snaps at Orochimaru's finger, biting half of it off. The ninja grunts with pain and very calmly forces the fox's mouth open, but he already swallowed. Jit grins victoriously until Orochimaru's sadistic smile reappears. "It looks like I will just have to get the finger back from your stomach."

Orochimaru readjusts his grip on the knife and slowly cuts from just below the throat, down over the chest, and ending just before the waist. He peels the skin open and pins it to the table with small metal pins. "I am so glad that I decided to kidnap this particular demon," he mumbles to himself. "They can endure so much pain before dying."

"**I…can't wait to see…how much pain you suffer before…dying, ninja!"** spits Jit haggardly. Every muscle left in his body screams with pain. Orochimaru ignores his yipping and slices into the chest muscle until he reaches the remaining lung. He slowly cuts around it until it is by itself. He lifts it up and watches it inflate and deflate.

"I will leave that for later, fox. After all, I can't have you dying on me just yet, now can I?" he says with his usual creepy smile. Orochimaru wipes his gloves off on the now red surgeon's apron he is wearing. He picks up a small throwing star and uses it to slowly dig into the area near the heart. "I must see how this works," he mutters quietly. Jit is too tired to wiggle, all retorts now gone as pain overwhelms his young mind.

Orochimaru finally finds and cuts away all the tissue surrounding the heart, only the veins and arteries still connected to it. "Very interesting design, fox," he says more to himself than to the fox. "Not all that different from a human heart."

Jit mumbles, **"Your heart…eat…"**

Unfortunately for Jit, the snake ninja pulls the heart out of the chest cavity and lays it beside the barely alive body. "Now for the eyes," he coos cheerfully.

_Less than a mile away:_

Kyuubi hears the agonized whimpers of her kit. She stalks forward when the strong scent of kitsune blood reaches her nose. **"If a single hair on Jit is injured, I am going to tear whoever did this to him apart!!"** she roars.

_Inside the underground lab:_

Orochimaru ignores the noises of the kit and the shaking of the lab around him as he slices open the fox's skull. He looks at the small brain and chuckles, "And they say foxes are so smart." He shrugs and goes back down to the heart. Using his scalpel, he severs the arteries and veins connecting the heart to the fox, killing him.

Jit thinks as the life fades from his body, **"Mom...make him pay." **With that, his body stops shaking as the last breath leaves his body.

"Now for the process of classifying and labeling all the parts. This is my least favorite part," Orochimaru says with a frown.

The roof of the lab crumbles and disappears to reveal Kyuubi the Nine Tailed Fox. She stares in horror at her baby. **"Jit…"** she mutters in horror. Her eyes dart from jar to jar and back to her kit's mutilated body. Her eyes rest on the small man standing next to the table. **"You!"**

"This would be a good time for a retreat," Orochimaru says flippantly. He races from the room as fast as he can, but is cut off as a thick red tail burrows into the hall in front of him. He turns around and a second tail cuts him off. A third tail erupts under him, forcing the Snake Sannin to leap up into the ceiling. Razor sharp claws tear apart the roof around him until only he is left, on top of her tails. He fires off jutsus at the great Fox Queen to no avail. Every time he tries to escape, the Kyuubi's toxic chakra and her multiple tails cut him off.

"**You killed my kit!!"** she roars with pure fury. She pins him down with a single claw and uses the tips of her tail to methodically tear apart his organs, forcing miniscule amounts of burning chakra into various parts of his chakra network. He writhes in agony as he feels himself being burned inside out while the tails dissect him. She rips off his head and swallows it with a single gulp. The great demon fox sticks out her tongue and plucks the headband from its sticky surface. A leaf symbol is engraved on the headband.

She picks up the corpse of her beloved baby and cradles it with one of her tails. Fury and sadness course through her very veins. The anguished cry of a mother shakes the earth and is heard for hundreds of miles around. Placing the kit back onto the earth gently, she slams all nine tails into the ground. The shockwaves ripple through the ground quickly, tearing apart anything in it. The hidden lab collapses in on itself as the earth buries it.

Thumping comes from all directions. She looks up from her baby's body to see the quickly nearing forms of her clan members. Her Eight Tailed Fox King leads the twin sister of Jit named Bit and the Four Tailed and the Six Tailed foxes.

She turns her huge head as the other tailed foxes slowly converge on her location. Bit hops onto her father's head and stares down at her twin brother. **"What happened to him?" **she yips in horror. One of the Eight tails covers her eyes and puts her on the ground.

"**Kyuubi," **the Seven tails asks respectfully, despite the obvious rage in his voice, **"What happened to little brother?"**

"**He was taken while I was sleeping. I awoke and followed his scent here, but the leaf ninja had already taken him apart and murdered him,"** Kyuubi snarls furiously. **"What kind of creature could do that to him? He was just a baby!" **

The Five Tailed fox stares at the corpse for a long moment then looks up Kyuubi. **"Let's kill whoever did this to our brother, Mother! They Must Pay!!"**

"**They shall suffer the wrath of the Fox Clan!" **roars the dog sized two tailed fox as loudly as she can.

The Eight and Nine Tailed foxes exchange grief filled glances and turn to the rest of the family. **"They will suffer,"** Kyuubi says as blood red tears drip from her eyes. **"Nobody kills one of our own and lives!" **

The roars of the enraged Demon Fox Clan shakes the remaining landscape down to its core. They make their way towards the Leaf Village. **"Leave none alive,"** growls the Eight Tailed Fox dangerously.

The Five Tailed fox snarls, **"Wouldn't dream of it, father!" **

_In Konoha: _

"Lord Hokage!" an Anbu exclaims as he appears in front of the Fourth Hokage. "The entire demon fox clan is headed this way!"

Minato frowns, "Why?"

"We don't know, sir! But they look mad!" the Anbu replies frantically.

He thinks about it as his frown deepens. "Are all the ninja in this village accounted for?"

A second Anbu appears and bows, "All but two, Sir! Lady Tsunade is gone on Sannin traveling rights granted by the Third Hokage, but Orochimaru is missing."

"Orochimaru, what have you done?" Minato mutters to himself. "Fine, gather Konoha's army and see if we can slow them down enough to reason with them. They must not reach the village."

The Anbu disappear in clouds of smoke. Moments later, ninja are being woken up in the middle of the night with reports of the Foxes coming.

Sarutobi and Jiraiya appear behind Minato. "What are you two doing here?" Minato asks tiredly.

"Your wife is giving birth," Sarutobi answers quietly. "Your son will be born any second now."

Jiriaya nods in agreement. "Surprisingly enough, tonight seems to be a baby boom! Almost every clan are having a child tonight or have had one within this week!"

"How many babies have been born this week?" Minato says as he closes his eyes, dreading the answer.

Sarutobi tilts his head curiously, "Nine, why do you ask?" His answer is a loud sigh.

"The Demon Fox Clan is coming, and they are on the rampage," he says simply.

Jiraiya pales and pulls his summoning scroll from his belt. "I will summon Gamabunta and get to the front lines."

"No," Minato states firmly. "I will summon the Toad Boss and see if I can reason with them. If I can't, then we will at least be prepared to stop them."

"If we can't stop them?" Sarutobi inquires wearily.

Minato turns and stares at him, "Than it is up to you to evacuate the civilians from the village while we slow them down."

The Fourth Hokage watches as ninja leap over or onto the village wall and rush into formations between the Foxes and the village. "May God help us all," Jiraiya whispers.

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimers: see chapter 1

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Minato drops from a tree and stares up at the awe-inspiring sight of the incoming Fox Clan. Sighing, he bites his thumb and hits the ground. The huge billow of smoke dissipates to reveal the Boss Toad Gamabunta. "What am I here for, Minato?" he says as he takes a puff from his pipe. The roars of the Fox Clan answer his question. "What did you do to piss off the entire Fox Clan?" he says incredulously, glaring up at the Hokage.

"I don't know!" Minato exclaims. "As far as I know, we haven't done anything!" Gamabunta glances over the foxes and notices one of them is missing.

"They are missing one of their babies," Gamabunta points out quietly.

Minato shouts, "We didn't take your baby!"

The Eight Tailed Fox snorts mockingly and growls, "**Close enough." **

Gamabunta tenses as the foxes charge forward, leveling the forest around them easily. Beside him, two high level toads appear with Jiraiya on top of the larger one.

The Boss Toad leaps into the air, blocking three tails with his sword. "That jutsu won't work, if that's what you were thinking!" he shouts. Oil spews out of his mouth and lights on contact with the foxes. The Seven Tail rolls over the fire and extinguishes it, the last of the flames sticking to his tails and fur.

"**One more reason to kill you,"** he snarls as his tails lash out at one of the smaller toads, sending flaming globs of oil flying.

_In the Council Chambers:_

Sarutobi stares at the majority of the clan heads that were not sent out to fight, in case the foxes broke through.

"You know what I am asking of you, ladies and gentlemen," he says quietly.

Shibi Aburami nods solemnly, "We do."

"Do you accept the price of what must be done?" the former Hokage says, leaning onto the table tiredly.

Tsume Inuzuka snarls, "Stop asking! We all said that we will pay. Now, let's get out there before the village is leveled!"

"This is such a drag. My wife's going to kill me," the Nara clan leader sighs.

The Fugaku Uchiha glares at him. "I feel that will not be a problem. Now, let's go."

They vanish in squirls of leaves. Reappearing in the Hospital, the clan leaders each grab their children.

"If you are doing what I think you are doing," warns Inoichi Yamanaka's wife. "I am going to tear you apart inside out."

Inoichi smiles weakly, "I'm afraid that honor belongs to another, my dear."

Three identical screams that only come from mothers finding out that they just lost their child. The other six screams would have joined them had the Shinigami not already come for them.

_On the Battlefield, One or Two Miles from Konoha:_

Ninja fly back in pieces or with bloody injuries as the tails and claws rip the small humans to pieces.

"We need reinforcements!" shouts a ninja as a body part passes his head.

A Hyuga staggers to his feet, wincing at the gaping hole in his side. "Stop whining," he gasps. "You're pathetic." He staggers forward with a kunai drawn towards the Three Tailed Fox. "Come and get me, demon," he mutters, spitting up blood.

The horse sized demon fox lands in front of him and bites off his head. The blood spurting out covers the nearby ninja, freezing him further before a tail rips through his ribcage and yanks it out. He collapses in a bloody heap. The Fox smirks with satisfaction and lunges for its next victim.

Meanwhile, Kyuubi and her husband clash with the Boss Toad and Minato. **"Just die already,"** roars the Eight Tail. Kyuubi whips her tails at his sword and one of them makes it through just enough to leave a gash over his eye.

"Ladies first," Gamabunta grunts as he hops backwards. He pumps his stomach, launching air bullets at the couple. A bullet tears a hole in Kyuubi's shoulder, but the red chakra pulls itself back together quickly. The Eight Tail pins Gamabunta down with his claws and tails.

Minato opens his hand and shouts, "Rasengan!" A swirling ball of energy appears in his palm, and he thrusts it at the fox's eyes. The demon tries to bite it, but it chips his tooth. Growling, he jumps back.

Kyuubi spins in a circle, her tails lashing in all directions, leveling more trees and nicking the leg of one of the two other toads. Jiraiya leaps to the other toad and swallows a soldier pill to replenish his chakra.

The Toad Sannin quickly launches the Mud Swamp jutsu, but all but the Five Tail jump clear. The Five Tail swims in the mud and yells, **"Release me or I will crush you!"**

The toad smirks, "Isn't that what you were going to do anyways?" Jiraiya looks questioningly at his steed, since he can't understand the foxes but shrugs as he launches another jutsu.

In the far corner of the field Bit and Two Tail wrestle with Inuzuka hounds and their masters.

Arriving on the scene of the battle, the clan heads and Sarutobi land in what little of the woodland there is left. "You have all memorized the seals and hand signs?" he calls to them.

They all nod and start painting small seals on their children's stomachs. If anyone had been paying attention to them, they would have marveled at the unity with which the normally argumentative clan heads work. After two minutes, they finish and begin going through the hand signs.

"They will be revered as heros," Sarutobi promises them as they finish the hand signs.

Minato notices the power beginning to build around the clan heads and summons another toad with what chakra he has left. "Keep them busy, Bunta!" he shouts as he and the other toad hop to the clan heads.

"Will do, Blonde!" Gamabunta replies as he pars yet another slash from the tails.

The Fourth Hokage lands beside the Third and stares at the seals and the hand signs being performed. "You can't be serious!" he gasps. "Sarutobi!" he stares at the old man accusingly. "You were going to kill yourself in my place!"

"Me? Kill myself?" Sarutobi grins innocently.

Minato's face hardens. "Yes, kill yourself to seal the Kyuubi into my son. I will do it myself. It is my responsibility as Hokage and father to him. Now, get out of my way." Sarutobi sighs and steps aside.

"You are making a mistake, Minato," the retired Hokage warns.

Minato snorts, "It wouldn't be my first." He flashes through the hand signs at triple the pace of the other clan heads, easily catching up with them in the final hand signs. "You should have listened to reason," he mutters.

The Shinigami appears in front of them and looks over the nine parents. "I'm going to need backup," he exclaims. A moment later, two more identical Shinigami appear on either side of him.

"We will need a lot more back up!" the two say at simultaneously. Three more appear and they all nod. "That will do."

The clan heads exchange glances as the legendary death angels murmur amongst themselves about who will eat who. They come to their decision and grin. The first Shinigami states, "This is an honor for you, Young Hokage."

"It is?" Minato says with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," the Shinigami replies, his eye twitching. "You managed to summon at least six of us here at once. The deal is accepted." They each reach into the parents, pulling out a soul with each hand and tossing them into their mouths. The original Shinigami grabs onto Minato's soul with both hands and begins to pull.

Minato grunts as he pulls back, "How do I know you won't break the deal?"

The Shinigami pulls back and growls, "I don't break deals!" Minato stares him in the eye for a few seconds before relaxing.

"Fine," he smirks as his soul is yanked out of him and swallowed.

The remaining ninja forces are on their last legs when the six Shinigami appear around the demon foxes. "We are going to need even more back up! Call them all in!" shouts the original Shinigami. Twelve more of the death angels appear around the foxes and all grab onto the foxes and start pulling. Kyuubi and Eight Tail lash at them angrily, resisting their strong grip to the very last second as they are yanked from their bodies and thrown into the babies' stomachs.

Bit looks around her new cage and barks, **"At least we are still together!" **

"**Shut up, Bit,"** murmurs the Four Tail sourly from her container's stomach.

Kyuubi roars and slams her body against the cage furiously. **"Let me out!"**

Sarutobi notices the seals still glowing. "That's not supposed to be happening." Red chakra pours out of the seals and interlock with each other. The howling of the enraged foxes echoes through the now silent clearing. The chakra retreats back into their seals as the seals push them back in and lock the doors of each prison.

He looks over the dead bodies of the clan heads. "I'm proud of you all," He whispers. "But now I have to tell your spouses. This is exactly why I was going to take Minato's place." He sighs heavily. "Since the Shinigami didn't kill me, the mothers will glady finish the task."

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the Fox Clan names, minus Kyuubi.

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_**In the Council Chambers:** _

"What is the meaning of this, Sarutobi?" yells an Uchiha elder angrily.

Sarutobi glares at him with plenty of killer intent but replies peacefully, "Whatever do you mean, Uchiha?"

Hizashi Hyuga states, "The clan heads of Konoha have been wiped out, and instead of giving us a decent night's sleep, you have summoned us here. I believe the council would like to know why, Lord Hokage."

"As Hokage, I appoint Hizashi Hyuga as the head of the Hyuga clan. We need more clan heads who know how to show respect to their superiors," Sarutobi says tiredly, staring down the annoying Hyuga elders who start to protest. "The caged bird seal will be removed immediately, Jiraiya."

Before the Hyuga elders can react, the Toad Sannin appears next to Hizashi and skillfully removes the seal with a counter seal, causing them to cancel each other out and disappear. "You have no right!" sputters a Hyuga elder furiously.

"I am Hokage. I have every right," states Sarutobi gravely. "I called this meeting because of the results of the Fox Clan attack." The council goes silent.

He snaps his fingers and nine Anbu appear with the children. "The Fourth Hokage sealed the Fox Clan in these children since they are immortal and cannot be killed once they pass the first tail of power," Sarutobi explains. The council starts shouting and making loud accusations.

Jiraiya summons a man-sized toad which draws a sword. The council falls silent, eyeing the large blade. "Third," Jiraiya nods. "Please continue."

Sarutobi smiles at his student's methods. "Thank you, Jiraiya," he responds gratefully. He turns back to the disgruntled council. "As I was saying, the clan heads gave their lives, including the Fourth, to seal away the foxes. His last request was for them to be treated as heroes of the village."

Danzo steps up to the podium, causing everyone else to be quiet. He says with a rough voice, "These children contain the foxes, therefore, I propose that they are raised as weapons for the village. They will serve to replace the good shinobi we lost tonight."

"Not a chance," states Jiraiya. The toad leaps forward at the cripple, easily beheading him. "Sorry about that," the Sannin says coldly as the toad vanishes in a puff of smoke. "I don't know what got into him. He must be restless from the fight." The council pales noticeably from the amount of killer intent leaking off of him. "Any other bright ideas?" he inquires, almost as an after thought.

The Third Hokage sighs and rubs his temples, "I will tell the village, as per Minato's last request, and then have them taken care of by their respective clans."

The council starts shouting about who gets what child. "That was not a suggestion," states Sarutobi firmly.

The Uchiha step up and glare at the children, "What assurances do we have that the demons will not break lose or gain control of the children's bodies? I say we kill them all now."

"I agree," adds a Yamanaka elder quietly. "We cannot have such a security risk in the village."

"If I hear another word about threatening my baby, I will tear you all apart!" shouts a voice from the council chamber doorway. Heads turn to see Yoshino Nara sitting in a wheelchair, obviously weak from just having a baby.

An Inuzuka smirks, "And how do you plan on doing that?"

A glimmer of light appears and disappears. A moment later, his head drops to the ground. An Anbu takes off her mask and stares at the dead Inuzuka. The council stares in shock at the apparently alive Kushina Uzumaki, also known as the Crimson Death.

"I also have an objection to them killing my child," she says simply. "If I need to, I will adopt all of them to keep them safe."

Yoshino smiles and calls, "The same goes for me too!" Murmurs wash over the council members.

Sarutobi smiles, "Very well. Anbu, take them to their homes."

"Which home, sir?" inquires an Anbu in confusion. Yoshino and Kushina share a sad glance.

Kushina says, "The Uzumaki estate." Yoshino slowly nods.

The old Nara representative states, "You will do no such thing, Yoshino Nara! If you do not allow the council to do as they see fit with those…children, then you will be expelled from the clan."

Yoshino very slowly and methodically wheels herself up the ramp usually used by Danzo and stops in front of the elder. She smiles at him pleasantly right before spitting on his face. "Kushina," she says, without taking her eyes off of the enraged elder before her. "I think I will be joining you at your estate. May I?"

Kushina smiles widely, "Of course. We will raise the children ourselves, since these old fools have finally gone senile." The Anbu disappear with the children. Minato's widow slowly pushes Yoshino from the room as shouts and arguments start up again.

They smile when they hear Sarutobi shout, "The village will be informed and that will be the end of it! If any of you try to harm any of those children, I will kill you myself! I may be old, but I am still the best ninja in this village! Any who care to challenge me for the position?" When there are no answers, he continues, "Call for the village to meet. I have an announcement to make." The council members disperse.

Hizashi meets the two women before the announcement. "Ma'am," he says quietly to them with a respectful bow. "I am now the head of the Hyuga clan, but the Hyuga council holds too much power right now for me to take care of Hiashi's daughter safely. Can you please look after her?"

They exchange glances and then nod. He smiles, "Thank you very much, ladies. If anyone from my clan attempts to harm the children, I will see that they are executed. The council will be upset, but they can't do anything against me without losing face. They are under my personal protection."

Yoshino smiles and gestures for him to lean in closer. He leans in closer as requested. She kisses him on the cheek gently and whispers, "Your brother would be proud of you, Hizashi. We will keep his daughter safe."

The Hyuga clan head blushes profusely and bows again, "Thank you again." He leaves, trying to banish the blush from his face. He thinks excitedly, 'Now my son won't have to have the caged bird seal put on him! I was afraid I was going to have to condemn him to that fate.'

_**After the Hokage's Announcement to the Village:**_

Sarutobi sighs and sits in his desk. "Minato, you would weep if you could see the depths that your village has sunk in your absence. They wanted the children killed; they are all fools. I thought for sure that they would see the children as heroes."

Kushina appears next to his desk and removes her Anbu mask. "Sir, I am going to have to request a leave of absence until further notice to raise our children."

"Granted," Sarutobi says immediately. "Thank you for taking care of the elder in there. They won't dare to attack the wife of the Fourth or the Crimson Death."

Jiraiya hops in through the window and is about to hand the Hokage the newest addition of the Icha Icha series, when he sees Kushina's burning gaze and hurriedly hides it in his belt. "Third," he says politely. "I'm going on to go gather information from my spy network and keep an eye on Tsunade. If you need me, I'll be back in a few years."

Kushina glares at him, "Minato told you that he wanted you to be Naruto's godfather, right?"

The Sannin gulps and hurriedly waves his hands in front of him, "Of course! I'll be back to see the boy on his birthdays!"

"Uh huh," drawls Kushina disbelievingly. "A few years is not visiting on his birthdays."

He looks to the Third for help. "Sorry, Jiraiya, you're on your own this time," Sarutobi says quickly.

"Um…I'll send him a jutsu to learn each year that I don't visit!" he says, hoping to pacify her.

Kushina says pleasantly, "You are going to send him a new jutsu to learn every year, whether you are here or not. And you will be here for each and every one of his birthdays. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Jiraiya groans, mumbling under his breath about research being ruined.

Kushina leans forward and her hand hovers near her katana. "What was that, Jiraiya?"

"I was just saying how happy I am about coming back every year!" he says with a big smile.

Kushina smirks, "That's what I thought you said. If you teach my children any of your bad habits, I will castrate you." The Toad Sannin turns almost completely white before jumping out the window onto a waiting toad. The toad immediately takes off into the horizon, trying to get some distance between himself and the woman with the sharp sword and a bad temper.

"I had better be going," Kushina Uzumaki salutes to the Hokage and disappears in a swirl of flames. The leaf cinders fall to the ground in a small heap. An Anbu drops a genjutsu and sweeps up the cinders. He sighs, puts the cinders in a small bag that is full of identical cinders, and disappears in a swirl of leaves. Another Anbu appears to clean up the leaves…you get the idea.

_**At the Uzumaki Estate:** _

Yoshino slowly wheels herself into the very large bedroom containing the nine children. She smiles and gently puts a bottle into each of their cribs for them to drink. "So cute," she whispers.

Kushina appears and smiles warmly, "Yes, they are. What do you think of Hizashi Hyuga?"

Yoshino looks at her sharply, "Our husbands just died, so he is off limits."

"Just for now," Kushina smirks, still fully clad in Anbu attire, with the exception of the red flames sewn onto the back of her uniform. The Nara ignores her smirk and goes back to placing the bottles.

After Yoshino finishes placing the bottles, her best friend wheels her to the nearby bed. "You need your rest," states Kushina firmly.

Yoshino frowns, "What if the babies wake up or start crying?"

"Than I'll be here to take care of them. Rest," she orders firmly. Yoshino sighs and climbs into the bed, still wearing her hospital gown. She falls asleep in under a minute. Kushina smiles, changes out of her uniform into a nightgown, and climbs into bed next to Yoshino (all you perverts, get those thoughts out of your heads!! their Husbands just died. they're straight). She falls into a light sleep so that she can hear the babies should they wake up.

For the first time in Konoha history, all nine babies sleep peacefully through the night. Unbeknownst to the mothers, the Fox Clan is having a meeting.

_**In the Mindscape:** _

The Fox clan assembles around a table with Kyuubi at the head of the table, with Eight Tails beside her. **"We cannot break out of our prisons," **Kyuubi announces dejectedly.

Eight quickly says before anyone can start whining, **"I suggest that since these humans seem at least somewhat decent, that we stick together and make sure our vessels are worthy to contain us." **

"**At least, as worthy as humans can get,"** mutters Three.

"**Why have we not avenged our brother yet?" **growls Five angrily.

Bit yaps, **"I want to eat them all for what they did to brother!" **

Six snarls, **"Father, are you suggesting that we sit around like caged pets and Help these humans after what they did to us?" **

"**No," **states Eight firmly. **"We cannot break out. Your mother already affirmed this. If we cannot get out, then the other worthless humans will try to kill us while we are trapped. We need our vessels to be strong enough to protect us until we can find a way out! Are there any other questions?"**

"**Only one, Father," **says Two unhappily. **"If they try to separate us, will we stop them?" **

Kyuubi and Eight state simultaneously, **"Those that would separate us will perish in the flames of our wrath!"** The rest of the demonic Fox Clan grins evilly at the thought.

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	4. Chapter 4

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Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

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_**Time Skip Four Years: **_

A dark room slowly fills with people. The dim candles on the walls flicker enough to illuminate the pale eyes of the Hyuga Council and the headbands of the Cloud ninja. "What are you proposing?" a cloud ninja inquires thoughtfully.

A Hyuga Council Member says slyly, "We stop hostilities, and we will give you the location of a Hyuga child that was expelled from the clan that we were unable to put the cage bird seal on. She was once the Heiress of the Hyuga clan."

"Are you sure she will be unguarded?" another cloud ninja interjects suspiciously.

The Hyuga glare back, "She is not at our compound and we want to see her dead. She is being raised by two former ninja, but they should be no problem for you."

"What do you want in return?" a cloud Jonin asks them.

A Hyuga member smiles, "Just your assurances that she will die."

"Very well. We will make the negotiations official and send in our top Jonin squad to kidnap her. Now, hand over the information," the Cloud ninja states firmly. The Hyuga council pushes a thick envelope across the table. They examine its contents of money and blueprints. "It has been nice doing business with you, Hyuga scum."

"Likewise, Cloud trash," a Hyuga replies conversationally.

_**At the Uzumaki Compound:**_

"Mommy Kushi!" screeches a loud voice.

Kushina rubs her temples and walks to the playroom, "What is it, Ino?"

"Sasuke won't share with me!" Ino pouts.

Naruto pounces on Sasuke from behind and yells, "Grab it, Ino!" Sakura rolls between Ino and the toy with ease and grabs it before sprinting down the hall laughing. Shino watches the situation curiously while assembling a multicolored block tower with Choji.

Sasuke pins Naruto down, growling and bearing his sharp canines, while Ino runs after Sakura. "Hey, get back here with the toys!" she calls. Naruto grabs his brother's dark hair and they start wrestling. Kushino sighs and chases after her daughters.

Yoshino sits on a couch across the room with Hinata on her lap, reading her a story about how the knight saved the princess from the dragon. Hinata listens to the story as she messes with Shikimaru's hair as he sleeps next to them. Her blood red, pupil-less eyes take in everything around her. Kiba rushes into the room with a white puppy that ran away from the Inuzuka compound that keeps following him around. "Let's get'em, boy!" Kiba yells as he tackles the two wrestling boys. The puppy attacks them and pulls on their pants legs with his teeth. Naruto and Sasuke exchange glances and turn on Kiba and his pet. Kiba claws at their arms and the wrestling match intensifies into a minor brawl.

"Shino, why do they love fighting?" Choji asks while sliding another block onto the tower and eating a handful of potato chips. Shino shrugs and slides another block into the side into the tower. Half inch long chakra-eating red army ants crawl over the boy's face, arms, and into holes in his skin. "That's creepy, Shino," Choji states bluntly. Shino ignores him and places another block near the top of the tower.

Kushina catches up with her daughters and pulls them apart. "Settle down! I know I taught you to share!" she says with a glare to both of them.

Ino and Sakura grin sheepishly. "But, mom," whines Ino. "She stole the toy first!"

Sakura holds up the toy, "And she tried to steal it back first!"

"Both of you stop fighting. Maybe we can go check on your flower garden?" Kushino suggests. Ino and Sakura nod happily and hurry to the garden. Kushina hands her daughters water pots to go around and water the plants. She sits down on a nearby bench to watch. She begins to daydream about Minato when Ino says loudly, "Mommy Kushi, what's sex?"

Kushina sputters, "What brought that up?"

"You were just talking about it," Ino says matter-of-factly. Kushina frowns and thinks, "Can you hear me now?" Ino nods quickly and Sakura looks confused.

Kushina says out loud, "Well, sex is…" and she begins her birds and the bees speech. Sakura and Ino look disgusted. Kushina laughs when she sees the expressions on her face. Sakura's pointed ears perk up and she tilts her head, "Mommy, boys are gross! How can anyone want to do that with a boy?"

Kushina smiles, "You'll change your mind eventually, dear." Ino rolls her eyes and waters her favorite white roses.

Ino thinks, "Kumiho, how much longer until I can tell my mommies about talking to you?"

The Three Tails curls up around her feet in her mindscape and growls, "**As soon as my Mother talks to Naruto."**

"Why my idiot brother?" Ino asks mentally.

Kumiho, the three tailed fox, sighs loudly, **"Personally, I think it's the Shinigami having a warped sense of humor, but that's just a guess."** Ino shrugs and continues watering the plants and chatting with her pink haired sister. **"Hey, Father, how much longer do we have to wait? My vessel already is ready to begin improvements." **

Inner Sakura shouts, "Chaa! Make me stronger!" **"No," **growls the Eight Tails. **"Not until I am sure that you can handle it." **Sakura listens to the exchange idly, watering more flowers. Inner Sakura pouts, "Than make me able to handle it!" Sakura thinks, "Do I have any say in this?" "No!/**Yes,**" the fox and inner personality say simultaneously before glaring at each other. Inner Sakura gets into a staring match with the eight tailed demon and declares, "I will never blink!" She blinks. "Darn!" Sakura sighs, "Just let me know when you think we're ready." **"I like that one," **purrs Eight Tails. **"Loud mouth, why can't you be like the outer personality?" **Inner Sakura glares at him and looks away, "Hmph!"

The two girls continue watering the plants. Meanwhile, inside the house, the three boys' eyes flash red as they wrestle with each other, none of them noticing it. Akamaru backs away and whimpers quietly. Kiba is thrown out of the fight, resulting in Sasuke and Naruto to start punching and grabbing at each other, neither wanting to admit defeat. Kiba picks up the puppy and puts him up on his head and says, "Don't worry, boy, we'll prank'em tonight." The puppy barks in agreement and they walk away to find something to eat.

Naruto and Sasuke hear the word "prank" and instantly stop wrestling. They whisper secretively to each other on how to counter prank their feral brother. Yoshino does her best to listen to their whispering while reading the story. She finishes reading the story and says to Shikamaru, "I know you're awake, my lazy son, but can you hear them?" Shikamaru opens one eye and looks at his mother. "Okay then, do you have any ideas on when they'll start the prank war?"

"Tonight, after they think you are asleep," Shikamaru mutters.

Hinata tilts her head curiously and says without looking away from the storybook, "Why're you telling on them, brother?"

"'Cause, Hinata," Shikamaru explains with a bored tone, "We'll get caught in the crossfire once the pranks begin."

Hinata nods and smiles, "Good point." Yoshino laughs and places the book on the table next to the couch. She picks up another book and begins reading again; Shikamaru goes back to sleep.

**Later That Night: **

Three Cloud Jonin dressed in black sneak onto the Uzumaki compound. A small seal glows beside Yoshino's pillow. She whispers to Kushina, "The perimeter seal went off." Kushina grabs the sword beside her bed and slides on her night robe.

In the children's room, Kiba is rigging paint bombs on the edges of Sasuke and Naruto's blankets, ready to go off when the blankets are moved. He turns to creep back to bed when three dark figures pass past the moonlit window. The puppy sits beside his master and growls. Kiba ducks behind Naruto's bed. He narrows his eyes, examining the figures from across the room.

"**Kit, wake up!" **roars a voice, snapping Naruto's eyes open. He throws off his blankets, the paint splattering in mid air. The ninja get covered in bright paint. "Intruders!" Naruto shouts, reaching for the kunai under his pillow. All the children wake up at his shouting, instantly reaching for the kunai under their pillows.

Sakura shouts, "Lights activate!" Seals glow on the ceiling, lighting up the room, making make shift light bulbs. Everyone throws the kunai at the three intruders, catching them off guard.

They deflect most of the kunai, one or two getting by and hitting their arms. Yoshino ducks in the doorway and makes a hand sign, "Shadow possession jutsu!" She uses her children's shadows to reach farther and capture them. "Kushina, now!" The sword mistress of the Uzumaki house hold leaps over the Nara woman and speeds towards them. The Cloud ninja have time to blink before the shadows retract as the sword decapitates two of them and impales the last one in the chest.

"Another assassin?" Sasuke asks.

Ino says loudly, "They never learn!" Kushina wipes off her blade on her red night robe's sash and smiles at her children.

"It's safe. Go back to sleep," she says reassuringly. The children all retrieve their kunai and go back to bed, Shikamaru needing Ino to retrieve the kunai for him since he is too lazy to get out of bed. The two mothers methodically search through the dead ninjas' pockets, pulling out weapons and papers. "Hinata, read this for us?" Yoshino requests, tossing a sealed letter to her.

Hinata examines the envelope and replies, "This doesn't have any kind of trap on it." She opens it and skims over it. "The Hyuga clan sent them. My Byakugan and money in exchange for my death. Nothing new, really."

"This is something new," Kushina frowns. She pulls off the masks to reveal Cloud symbols on the headbands. "Cloud assassins."

Sasuke smirks, "Cool, we're getting more popular."

Naruto nods in agreement and then turns to Kiba and yells, "Hey! What are you doing hooking up paint bombs on my blankets!"

Kiba and the puppy smile innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about! I was up to go to the bathroom and those stupid ninja attacked!" Sasuke holds up his blanket, which looks like it has just been tye dyed.

"And what do you call this?" Sasuke says with a raised eyebrow.

"Um…" Kiba responds slowly, "Poorly placed paint bombs?"

Kushina stands and yells, "Kiba Uzumaki, get in bed now and we will talk about this tomorrow!" Kiba rushes into his bed and hides under the blanket, the puppy jumping in after him. She sighs, "There we go. Now, go to sleep!" She seals the bodies into a scroll and tosses it to Yoshino who slides on her jacket. She leaves the house while Kushina is left behind to tuck the children into bed and disable any more traps set up by Naruto, Sasuke, and Kiba. As she is about to leave the room, she says, "Lights, seal." The light vanishes and the seals become faint drawings on the ceiling again.

Yoshino walks to the Hokage tower and knocks on the door. Sarutobi opens the door and sees her. He groans and says, "What was it this time?" She holds out the papers that Hinata looked over and the scroll. He invites her in and walks up the stairs to his office.

He opens the scroll on his desk and the three bodies topple out. He takes one look at the headbands and frowns, "Cloud ninja. These three are the envoy sent for peace negotiations."

"Some peace, eh?" giggles Yoshino.

Sarutobi raises an eyebrow, "Certainly no peace for me once the council gets wind of this."

"Old man, why do you tell the council everything? You're the Hokage, aren't you?" Yoshino points out.

The Third Hokage frowns, "I may be a leader, but the council makes up an important part of our government."

Yoshino snorts, "And what part would that be? Getting their backsides wiped by the general populace and having power struggles and political vendettas at a whim? How is that important to the village? They're a bunch of old windbags who should be replaced by people who haven't gone senile."

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Sarutobi sits down in his chair and replies, "They are in office for a reason. Just go back home and take care of your children. I'll deal with this."

Yoshino walks to the doorway and glances over her shoulder. She says thoughtfully, "Get some sleep, Sarutobi. The bags under your eyes are big enough to hold Choji." Sarutobi chuckles as she walks out the door.

"Now for the unpleasant task of waking up the council and informing the Cloud village," grumbles Sarutobi. "Uzumaki women never were ones for subtlety."

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	5. Chapter 5

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Disclaimer: I own nothing but the Fox Clan, minus Kyuubi.

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**In the Council Chambers That Night: **

The Hyuga council sits on their knees in a row before Sarutobi. Chakra-restraining cuffs bind their hands and ankles. The Hokage reads the contract between the Cloud ninja and the Hyuga clan. At the end of it, he says, "Hyuga council, you have been charged with high treason which is punishable by death. How do you plead?"

"I'm just sorry that the Cloud ninja are truly the miserable failures that we thought them to be," a Hyuga elder snaps. "They could not even kill a single girl."

Sarutobi frowns, "Than you plead guilty?" The Hyuga elders sit proudly with their chins raised high, but they do not answer.

Hizashi leaves his village council chair and bows before Sarutobi. "Lord Hokage, with all due respect, I would like to carry out their sentence myself, as their Clan Head. It falls to me to punish the ones who have dishonored our clan." Sarutobi nods with a faint smile. Hizashi draws a short sword from his waist and murmurs just loud enough for the condemned to hear, "You have no idea how long I have waiting for this opportunity, swine." He gets into a running stance on the far end of the long line of Hyuga.

"You may carry out the sentence now," the Hokage announces. Hizashi smiles and dashes forward, the short blade decapitating the Hyuga council in one long swipe. He wipes off his blade and bows before Sarutobi gratefully.

Hizashi turns to the council and announces, "As the clan head of the Hyuga clan, since there is no more Hyuga council, I hereby dissolve the Branch family. They are to be reinstated into the main family. Those that choose willingly to serve the Main family will have their Cage Bird Seal removed and they can remain servants with a servant's regular pay." The Council stares at him in shock. Sarutobi slowly applauds his announcement, the rest of the council slowly joining the ovation. Hizashi goes back to his seat and waits for the clapping to cease.

Once the applause has ended, the Hokage brings in the official representative from the Cloud village whose bodyguards had been killed in their failed attempt. He unleashes a powerful killer intent that makes it hard for the ambassador to breathe. "Your village has come with the verbal intent of making peace. Your three ex-bodyguards trespassed on the Uzumaki clan's land. They attempted to assault and kill members of Konoha. They also violated their restrictions that we have placed on their traveling around Konoha. What do you have to say for yourself, Sir Ambassador?" He eases up on the killer intent enough for the man to be able to speak.

"Lord Hokage, my deepest apologies for my companions' reprehensible behavior. They will be duly punished for their misdeeds. The Village Hidden in the Clouds had no knowledge of any deal behind the scenes. We truly came with the intent of having peace with the Village Hidden in the Leaves," the ambassador says slowly.

Sarutobi frowns darkly, "I'm sorry to inform you that they were executed by the Uzumaki clan during their attempted assault on their persons. Not only were they well within their rights as Uzumaki clan members, but also well within their rights as citizens of Konoha. There will be no repercussions for these actions, however, because we still want peace. However, any further discussions will be at a neutral point, not at either village. There will be no repercussions from the Cloud, I assume, unless they want a full scale war, again. We are very prepared for such an action. The first casualty of such a conflict would be you."

The ambassador swallows hard and glances around the room to take in the hateful stares of each clan head. "The Cloud village will not press any charges, since we were the ones at fault for allowing this incident to occur. I will head back to my village to discuss the matter further with my superiors."

"Do that," Sarutobi grunts. "We shall be waiting." The ambassador pales at the killer intent radiating off of every clan head once again. He bows low to the Hokage and scurries from the room. The Hokage looks around the room at each of the clan heads. He says slowly, "If there is a similar incident ever with any of your clans, I have given the Uzumaki clan the right to display the heads of those that are killed in defense of their clan on their gate posts as a warning. Be sure to keep your heads off of those posts. The Council is hereby adjourned." He slams a rock onto his desk and watches each of the clan heads leave the room.

**The Next Day: **

Kushina groans and slides on her bloody-smelling robe. She answers the door with her sword drawn. She opens the door while stating dangerously, "You had better have a good reason for waking me up."

"Is that any way to treat your children's godfather?" a man's voice says pleasantly. She stares the man standing in the doorway.

Kushina raises an eyebrow and sheathes her sword, "What are you doing here, Jiraiya?"

"It is your children's birthday today, remember? I swore that I would make it to each of their birthdays, so here I am! The amazing Toad Sage of—" he begins.

The fiery redhead cuts him off, "If you continue that little dance of yours, I will hurt you. It is not befitting of a Sannin to act so foolish. Come in."

Jiraiya steps into the house and places a large scroll on the kitchen table. "I saw a few more heads on the gate posts this morning," Jiraiya comments. "They had Cloud forehead protectors."

"The now deceased Hyuga council hired them," groans Kushina as she rubs her eyes and heads towards her children's room.

**In the Children's Room: **

Ino wakes up when a very familiar chakra signature enters the house. She glances through his thoughts briefly and shouts, "Godfather is here!" The children instantly wake up from their slumber and run for the front door to greet him.

Jiraiya turns around just in time to be tackled by everyone. "Hey, everyone!"

Naruto says loudly as he clings to Jiraiya's leg, "Did you bring us any new jutsu? Did ya, Did ya, Did ya?"

Sasuke sits on his other leg and continues, "Yeah, we want more jutsu!"

Shikamaru groans from the bedroom and they hear Ino shout, "You're getting out of bed whether you like it or not, Lazy!" A loud smack and a thud later, Ino drags a fully awake Shikamaru from the room.

He rubs his cheek and grumbles, "Troublesome sister."

Jiraiya laughs and shakes off everyone. He unseals the scroll that has scrawled on the outer cover: Birthday Scroll. A small cloud of smoke rises to reveal wrapped gifts for everyone. He hands the first one to Hinata who snaps off the bow with a single chakra enhanced jab and sits down to see what it is. He hands Choji a larger box. Choji shakes it and sniffs the box. He whispers to himself, "It feels about the size of a chocolate cake…but it smells different." Shikamaru takes his gift and slowly opens it while Kiba tears his apart. Sakura takes hers and opens it, much more excited than her lazy brother. Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino get their gifts too. Ino and Sakura gets the last gifts.

Hinata gets a scroll with the Gentle Fist Fighting Style and a low level water jutsu signed by a friend of their mothers, Hizashi Hyuga. Under the scroll is a pack of sebon needles.

Choji gets a large box of cinnamon rolls. He starts crying from how happy he is and gives Jiraiya a hug. The Sannin pats his head and sends him back to his food. Along with the rolls is a small scroll containing a jutsu which makes the skin nearly impenetrable by changing the skin density with chakra.

Shikamaru finds a scroll and a new Shogi board. The scroll instructs on how to manipulate one's shadow, signed by Mommy Yoshino.

Kiba picks up a small box of soldier pills and long fingerless gloves with short spikes down outside of the arms. He grins as he tries them on. Akamaru pulls out a squeaky chew toy from the box and attacks it. It is so slippery that when the dog bites on it, it flies off in the other direction. Kiba laughs as he watches the white puppy running around the yard.

Naruto opens his box to find a two sickle-like Kama(short handled sickles used in martial arts). The blonde holds them like throwing axes before looking down to see a small scroll with a kata in the taijutsu style tae kwon do to be used with his Kama.

Sasuke opened his box to find a set of sai and a scroll with a defensive technique to use with the sai. The dark haired boy picks up the tri pronged weapon and starts to very slowly change his hand grips on the weapon while looking over the open scroll.

Shino gets a scroll on how to use his bugs with jutsu. He looks up at Jiraiya and inquires politely, "Where did you get this?"

Jiraiya smirks, "Let's just say the Aburame clan has some old rivals who want to help you out if it means having one up on Konoha's bug clan. Anything that will piss them off, including helping out you, they'll do." Shino pushes up his sunglasses on his nose and slowly nods before going back to his scroll. Kushina glares at the Sannin.

She pulls him aside and snaps, "Are you talking about the Kamizuru clan of the Village Hidden in the Rocks?" He nods slowly when she continues, "Why would they want to help the children of the Fourth Hokage's widow?"

He answers smoothly, "They just want to get back at the Aburame clan. They have the first Tsuchikage's scroll of forbidden jutsu for bug users that the Aburame don't know. The current Tsuchikage allowed it because he hopes that it will stir up strife in Konoha and maybe weaken it."

Kushina slowly smiles, "Good enough, I suppose. We'll just make sure their assumptions don't come true." She drags Jiraiya back to the group to finish watching the children open their presents.

Ino gets a white-handled Katana along with a scroll with a kata for her to learn. The scroll is signed by Mommy Kushina.

Sakura opens her box and pulls out two gloves with four retractable claws coming out of the back of each one. She sends a tiny chakra burst to her fists to make the claws extend and then retract. She grins and examines the scroll that came with it to teach her a lightning jutsu to go along with the metal claws.

The children all exchange glances and outside to practice with their stuff. Sakura and Ino talk with Hinata about how cool their new ninja tools look and how they are going to be the best female ninjas ever. Hinata merely nods absently while practicing throwing her sebon needles into one of their training dummies.

Jiraiya and the mothers go outside to watch. "Do they train all the time?"

"When they are not playing with their toys or pranking each other than they train to be ninja. They decided that if assassins are going to come after them all the time, they are going to need to learn how to defend themselves and each other," Yoshino says fondly as she watches them.

Jiraiya chuckles as he sees Naruto and Sasuke carefully and slowly sparring with each other, helping each other find the weaknesses and strengths of their weapons. Shino is sitting on a small rock and talking to his red bugs about the new jutsu and describing what he will need of them if they agree to comply with the jutsu.

Kushina calls out, "In two years, you are all going to the academy, and you're going to show them what Uzumaki are made of!" The children stop what they're doing and cheer. People walking outside of the Uzumaki district walls shiver nervously when they hear the cheering. The surprised faces of the previous attackers leer down at the passerbyers.

Kakashi appears inside the walls and calls out, "I'm here!"

Yoshina states, "You're late!"

"At least I made it," Kakashi replies. "And I have gifts for everyone!" The children swarm him. He opens up the bag he is carrying and says, "For Hinata, Ino, and Sakura; I have the tree climbing and water walking jutsu since you girls have more chakra control than your brothers."

Kiba growls, "Hey! I have plenty of chakra control!"

Sakura smirks, "Sure you do, brother. That's why you had to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night?" Kiba bites back a retort, knowing full well that answering would give away why he was really awake. He glares at her and turns back to Kakashi.

The masked Jonin eye smiles, "For the boys, I have weighted clothes. There is a guy who constantly follows me around named Guy, and he uses weights a lot to be physically stronger. He's the village's Taijutsu master. If you use them, then you will be strong at Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu!"

"What about Genjutsu?" Yoshino asks with a frown.

Naruto says loudly, "Don't worry! Kyu the nine tails won't let genjutsu hurt me!"

"Same with Kumiho the three tails," says Ino.

Sakura pipes up, "Koan the eight tails says that human genjutsu is too weak to hurt us."

Yoshino and Kushina exchange glances while Jiraiya frowns and quickly starts examining their seals. "How long have you been talking to the foxes?" Jiraiya inquires.

"A few weeks ago Shizuka spoke to me," Shino says quietly. "They talked to us all at the same time."

Hinata grins mischievously, "But if we were to cast any genjutsu, than nobody would be able to break out of it other than maybe an Uchiha, but that would have to be a very strong one. I trust Huli the four tails."

"We all trust them," Chouji sums up between bites of potato chips.

Kushina frowns, "We'll keep an eye on them. Foxes are known as tricksters."

"They're also known to always keep their word," Yoshino counters. The mothers think about it. Finally, the shadow-wielding woman says, "Until they show bad signs, we'll leave their seals alone. After all, the Fourth was a seal master and he wrote their seals."

Jiraiya finishes checking their seals and says confidently, "Their seals are fine." The silver haired copy ninja smiles in relief. He relaxes his grip on the kunai hidden in his sleeve.

Sakura's pointy ears perk up and she says, "The tea kettle is going off, Mommy Yoshi."

The Nara woman stares at her daughter in surprise and runs into the house. She comes back out and exclaims, "You were right."

"Of course I was," Sakura says with a smile.

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	6. Chapter 6

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Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**Two Years Later: **

The Uzumaki children slowly walk to school, chatting excitedly about joining the academy. Beside the standard weapons pouches on their belts are oddly shaped sheathes or on their backs. At the entrance of the academy wait several bullies. The children try to enter, led by Naruto and Sasuke. When the older children stand in the way, Sasuke grunts, "Get out of our way."

"Oh, you think you're hot stuff do you?" a bully sneers. "Just because you're a bunch of demons you think you are better than us?"

Naruto grins, "That's right! We are way better than stupid heads like you!"

"Why I oughta—" a bully begins. Shikamaru places his hands on both of his brothers' shoulders and pulls them back.

He stares at the bullies indifferently, "This is a real drag. If you don't let us pass, then we're going to make sure you never bother us again."

"Is that a threat?" a boy demands.

Shikamaru very slowly smiles at the boy. "Not a threat. Threats are troublesome." The older students jump back when they hear a low growl. They glance down at Shikamaru's shadow to see two bright red eyes staring at them with the outline of fangs just below it. They run away into the school screaming and Shikamaru's shadow fades back to normal. He glances over his shoulder, "Let's go. Being late will be such a drag."

Inner Sakura cheers, "_That's my brother! Oh yeah! We all totally kick butt! Cha!_" The fox rubs his temples with his tail tips and growls, '_**Stop with the Cha's already! It is giving me a headache!**_' The fox and the Inner Sakura begin their usual brawl while Outer Sakura continues onwards peacefully with a smile on her face.

They enter the classroom and murmurings break out and spread through the classroom quickly. A Hyuga girl remarks when she sees Hinata, "Well if it isn't the clan reject!"

Before the girl can blink, she finds herself with a sharp wooden shuriken imbedded on her desk between her left index and middle finger. Ino purrs, "You weren't perchance talking about my sister, were you?" The girl shakes her head quickly. Ino leans over the desk and yanks out the shuriken. She stays close to the girl and whispers just loud enough for her to hear, "Good. I don't like people who insult my siblings." She backs away and sits in an empty seat. The nine children fill up two rows near the back with the Uzumaki boys on the back row and the Uzumaki girls on the other. A few boys give them dirty looks, but receive menacing glares and growls from Kiba. Choji continues eating his chips complacently, one or two flicking out randomly and bouncing off of the heads of a few of the whispering children. When they look to see who did it, he continues eating at a slow but steady pace, ignoring their stares.

Iruka enters the class and glances around to take in the students. His eyes stop traveling when they fall onto the Uzumaki children. He frowns and notices that they are sitting together. "I will be your teacher. My name is Iruka." He gestures to the silver haired man beside him. "This is your teacher Mizuki. He will be my assistant this year. When I say your name, please answer. I'll go in order from Z to A."

He starts going through the names until he gets to U. "Naruto Uzumaki."

The blonde says very loudly, "Here!" Sakura rubs her ears and smacks him upside the head.

"Not so loud, idiot brother!" she whispers harshly. Her pointed ears twitch and he nods quickly, hiding behind his desk. She sits back down in her seat and he sits up normally.

Iruka raises an eyebrow at the interruption and continues, "Shino Uzumaki."

The bug filled boy pauses his conversation with one of his large red beetles and answers, "Here." He goes back to the very quiet conversation with the insect.

"Shikamaru Uzumaki," Iruka calls out. After a long moment of silence, he repeats, "Shikamaru Uzumaki, are you here?" Choji lifts up his brother's hand and replies, "He's right here."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru grumbles as he tries to go back to sleep. Nobody notices as his shadow goes in a slow circle around him, still connected at his feet.

Iruka reads down the list, "Sasuke Uzumaki."

"I'm here," smirks Sasuke. All the girls sigh dreamily at the sound of his voice while they stare at him. The dark haired boy frowns at the sudden attention and murmurs under his breath, "Ah yes. Mothers warned me about fan girls."

"Sakura Uzumaki," Iruka calls, his eyes still on his notepad.

She raises her hand a little and says quietly, "Here." Inner Sakura shouts inaudibly, '_Louder! Make yourself known! We shall dominate this class!_' "Shut up," she whispers quietly to herself.

"Do you have something to say, Sakura?" Mizuki inquires when he notices her whispering. She quickly shakes her head. The instructor glances at the list and continues, "Kiba Uzumaki."

A light red furred puppy barks from on top of the red cheeked boy. Kiba grins, "That's me!" His canines are long and his fingernails are very pronounced as claws. His hair is more of a rougher fur texture than of a hair texture.

"Ino Uzumaki," Iruka continues, glancing sharply at Mizuki for interrupting. The long blonde haired girl grins and answers, "Here and looking great." Several of the guys are drooling. She is wearing a sleeveless purple shirt with the Uzumaki symbol on the back and her shorts just above her knees to show off her already shapely legs despite her young age.

Naruto whispers to them, "That's my sister you're drooling over." They immediately sit up and try to pretend they weren't staring, though their eyes keep trailing back over to her. Ino smirks evilly when she notices their staring and whispers something to Hinata. Hinata slowly turns her head and gazes at the boys with her pure pupil less red eyes. They glance at her and then look away. She keeps staring at them. They look back at her and then at each other. They start whispering about how to get her to stop staring.

"You boys! Talking when I am trying to take roll call is against the rules. Detention after school today," Iruka says loud enough for them to hear. Hinata smirks and gives Ino an under the table high five. They start listening again. "Hinata Uzumaki," Iruka says, continuing with roll call.

Hinata drones in a monotone voice, "What do you want, human?"

"Excuse me?" Iruka says with a puzzled expression on his face.

She smiles and replies, "Oh, nothing! Here!" He and Mizuki exchange strange glances before going onto the next person, causing Hinata to smirk more.

Choji whispers, "You shouldn't mess with their heads, Hinata. Mommy Yoshi said so."

Hinata replies very quietly, "Mommy Kushi said otherwise." Choji nods and goes back to eating his chips. He answers when Iruka calls his name and the students watch the teachers with anticipation.

"All right, this should be a very interesting class this year," Iruka announces. "Now, on to lesson number one!" The students stand and cheer, minus the Uzumaki. "Math." They all facevault anime-style. The Uzumaki children smile pleasantly at Iruka, sending a shiver down his spine.

Mizuki unconsciously gulps and thinks, '_This is going to be a long year!_' To his dismay, their smirks grow wider.

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Read and Review!

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	7. Chapter 7

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Disclaimer: See previous chapters

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**Five Months Later: **

"I really don't like Mizuki," barks Akamaru to Kiba.

Kiba looks up at the red furred pup on his head and mutters, "Neither do I, Akamaru." He looks around and scrapes his nails on the wooden desk. He has a chakra restraint seal on his forehead to keep him weak enough so that he does not cause trouble. "There has got to be a rule against this," he snarls. "When he takes this off of me, I'm going to pummel him. Then, I'm sicking mothers on him!" Akamaru bark laughs but Kiba scowls at him. "Not encouraging."

Across the entire row is the Uzumaki children, all with chakra restraints on their foreheads and their hands chained to their desks.

Naruto thinks out loud, "I wonder what kind of ramen Ichiraku is serving tonight!"

"Pork ramen," replies Hinata quickly. He gives her a thumbs up and smiles widely.

Sasuke grunts, "This is all your fault that we're in detention, dobe."

"How is this my fault?" Naruto asks irritably. "It's not my fault brothers and sisters got caught in their last prank on the teachers!"

Shino intones calmly, "You orchestrated this prank, Naruto." His fiery beetles crawl over his face while chittering grumpily. "Your faulty planning allowed for the discovery of the plan."

Sakura's shoulder-length pink hair hangs over her eyes which are glaring at the desk. "I guess even a Chunin can outsmart us. Next time, Mizuki and Iruka aren't going to stand a chance."

The laziest of them all sleeps on his desk, thankful for the orders to sit there quietly. Ino searches the room with her eyes before closing them and focusing on listening to any nearby minds. She takes a minute to tune out the chaotic minds of her brothers, especially Naruto. After a few moments, she calls out, "We're alone. Iruka and Mizuki went to get some paperwork from the Hokage Tower. We can try to escape now."

Choji shrugs and expands his wrists, easily popping off the chains. His wrist glows a light red before fading. He peels the chakra restrainer from his forehead and opens a new bag of chips. "Alright then. Before we escape, what are we going to tell Mommy Kushi and Mommy Yoshi?" he inquires before munching on his new handful of chips.

Shikamaru sits up in his chair and places his fingers together in an odd pattern. After a moment, he says slowly, "We will tell them that we were framed, the other students were hiding the materials, and that Mizuki hates us."

"That didn't work the last three times we used it," Shino points out.

Sakura smiles enthusiastically, "Why don't we just tell them that we're innocent because there is no possible way we could have gotten the materials for the prank and arranged it where we did under the watchful eyes of two Chunin!"

Sasuke smiles widely, "That can work. We'll use that. Oh, and one thing, Naruto."

"What's that?" the blonde asks with a slight tilt to his head.

Sasuke states, "Don't say anything! We'll explain it." He nods slowly at the order.

Choji sighs, "We're still going to get in some trouble. They know we did it, even if they can't prove it."

Hinata looks down at the chains around her wrists connecting to her desk. "It was only paint."

"And rope," adds Sakura.

Naruto grins cheesily and inserts, "And lots of feathers!"

Kiba growls, "They wouldn't have figured it out if we left out the feathers. I told you not to add the feathers!"

"But it was a great idea!" Naruto protests while Choji rummages through the teacher's desk before finding the key and systematically unlocking his siblings.

Choji unlocks Naruto's chains and shakes his head. "Then hiding the feathers in the ceiling was a bad idea. You know that our classmate Soka is allergic to feathers."

"I didn't know that he meant all feathers! Just chicken feathers!" Naruto protests, rubbing his wrists.

Sasuke asks him while Choji begins to unlock his chains, "What kind of feathers did you use for this prank again?"

"Chicken feathers, why?" Naruto responds. The siblings anime sweatdrop before continuing to gain their freedom.

Sasuke glares at him dangerously. "Dobe, you really are dense."

"Of course I'm dense! Isn't everybody?" Naruto pokes his hand. "Yep, definitely dense!"

Shikamaru lifts his head from his desk and looks at Sasuke. "You expect better from him?" Sasuke sighs and shakes his head.

Naruto smiles at them. Suddenly, a confused look covers his face. He thinks for a long moment before shouting, "Hey! You just insulted me, didn't you?"

Kiba covers his mouth and whispers harshly, "Be quiet! Do you want the teachers to figure out we're escaping?" He shakes his head and mumbles something against the dog boy's hand. "Good. Now, be quiet!" Akamaru barks at him and nods in agreement. Naruto scratches the back of his head sheepishly and grins.

Once everyone is free, the Uzumaki siblings open the window and climb out one by one with Hinata keeping watch from the doorway. She whispers loudly, "I think Iruka is coming!"

"Use that transforattian that we were taught yesterday!" Naruto whispers back before jumping out the window.

Hinata runs to the window, Choji climbing down to the waiting arms of his siblings. She whispers back, "That's transformation jutsu, you twit!" She spins on her heels and forms the hand sign. She focuses on the desks and sends a brief surge of chakra through her fingers. She jumps out the window and hits the ground running. The Uzumakis scatter in all directions in pairs.

Iruka walks into the room with a stack of papers and frowns. "I could have sworn that Shikamaru was in desk three and that Choji was in desk five." He sets the stacks down and looks around the room slowly. "Since when has Naruto ever been quiet? He's awake…" His eyes light up with realization and he forms a hand sign. "Release!" The children disappear and he leans out the door where Mizuki is coming down the hall with a stack of paperwork. "They've escaped!"

"How?" Mizuki exclaims in surprise.

Iruka replies, "We can figure that out later. If they reach home before we do, they'll try to discredit everything we say!"

Mizuki mutters, "Too late for that." Memories of pointy objects and of several attempted shadow sewing stabs flash through his mind from the last time that the mothers mistook their detaining the children as attacking them. "We'd better hurry!"

Iruka nods in agreement and they both run down the hall and out of the Academy doors in search of the missing students.

**In the Town: **

A rickety old man hobbles along with his cane. The other civilians nod to him politely to which he smiles to reveal several missing teeth. His thin gray hair is covered with a large hat. "There you are," Iruka says from behind the person.

The old man slowly turns his head. "Oh, hello there, sonny! Hehehe, what does a strapping young man like yourself want with an old fella like me, eh?" Iruka puts his hands together and sends out a pulse of chakra. The old man disappears to be replaced with Sakura who is holding a stick. "Ah snap!" she exclaims.

She runs and leaps onto the rooftops before sprinting away. The instructor sighs and chases after her quickly. A loud bark distracts him long enough for a small body to slam into him before jumping away.

Kiba hops onto the roof beside his pink haired sister and sprints off with Akamaru running beside him. The two give each other a quick high five while running away. Iruka does a back flip and lands on a nearby rooftop, hurriedly giving chase again.

On the other side of town, fireworks go off around. They narrowly miss Mizuki but forces him into a retreat from chasing Naruto and Sasuke. He gets ready to chase after them again once the lightshow dies down but finds himself impeded. "Shikamaru!" he growls.

"Hello, Master Iruka. I'm curious, just how did you figure out it was us that put the feathers in the ceiling and how did you figure out it was there?" the lazy boy asks from the shade of a roof edge. A thick shadow connects from the dark area to the Chunin's feet.

Mizuki snarls while trying to break out of the shadow possession jutsu, "Only you Uzumaki would try a prank like that and there is only so many places that one can hold enough feathers to make Sora sneeze the entire class period. Now release me!"

"That wouldn't be very wise of me, Master Mizuki. Even you know that," Shikamaru says with a raised eyebrow. He takes a step forward and both he and Mizuki wipe their foreheads. "This is very tiring. I'm not too good at this jutsu yet. He thinks, '_Take him out, Kuzunoha!_' His shadow creeps up the Chunin's body slowly. It pushes his legs together and holds them, going higher and crawling up the Chunin vest. Two clawed shadow hands grab onto his shoulders while a long third shadowy limb wraps around his throat and starts to squeeze.

Mizuki feels the squeezing and struggles against it. "W-what are you doing!? There is no way an Academy student can do the Shadow Strangle jutsu!"

Shikamaru smirks and states, "I'm just full of surprises." He thinks, '_I've got to ask Mommy Yoshi about that jutsu._' The shadow completely covers Mizuki and begins to squeeze tighter. Mizuki tries to force his way out of the shadow with sheer force but fails, gasping for breath in the enclosed space.

His eyes see only darkness until he hears a low growling sound. He turns his head in the shadow to see more darkness. He looks forward again and comes face to face to a pair of glowing red eyes. The growl grows into a nearly deafening roar.

Mizuki does the only thing that someone in his position can think of. He wets his pants. The shadow grabs onto his arms tightly and lifts him off the ground. It throws him into the air, out of the shadow. He takes in a deep breath of air, only for a shadow arm to hit him hard in the stomach and throwing him down into an alley. He crashes into a large row of garbage cans. He staggers to his feet with shaking knees and hands. The silver haired instructor freezes when he senses killer intent from all directions. He spins in a circle to find that he has just interrupted a very big drug deal.

"Get'em, boys! We can't have ninja busting us!" a man shouts.

Mizuki groans, "Bad day, bad day!" He draws two kunai and begins his fight with the long sought after, yet very elusive, Konohan drug ring. Shikamaru watches from the rooftop and chuckles before hopping into the street and starting his lazy pace towards home. Naruto and Sasuke watch with mischievous looks in their eyes for a few minutes before running to catch up with their brother.

Shino passes the alley from along the street and peers into the darkness to see Mizuki fighting off several ninja-level drug dealers and their customers. He very quietly pushes his dark glasses higher up on his nose and continues walking, slipping his hands into his pockets.

**Back with Iruka: **

"Choji, come on! He's going to find us!" Iruka hears Ino practically screech.

He hears the mumbled response, "I cannot leave without eating the last barbequed rib!"

Iruka jumps into the restaurant and shouts, "Got you!"

Choji continues munching on his barbequed ribs with mouth full of meat and his lips covered in barbeque sauce. He says, "Here he is! Thanks, Master Iruka." He finishes up the barbequed ribs and walks out with Ino on his arm. Iruka starts to go after them when the store owner grabs onto his arm.

"Hey, buddy, the kid said that you were going to pay for him. You're his dad, aren't you?" the store owner grunts, wiping one of his hands on his barbeque stained apron.

Iruka pulls out his wallet and glares after the two children. "All right, how much did he eat?" The owner points to the large stack of bones and holds out the bill. Iruka stares at the bill in shock. "Choji!!" He sighs with resignation. Iruka opens his wallet and starts handing out large dollar bills.

Choji and Ino hear his shout and start running down the street as fast as they can, laughing all the way.

**At the Uzumaki Mansion: **

Hinata saunters to the doorway and eases the door open. Her long blue hair flows around her as she ducks under an arrow-loaded trap and shatters an incoming axe with a chakra-enhanced touch. She continues forward at a leisurely pace, unperturbed by the attacks. "Mommy, I have something to tell you," she says quietly.

Yoshino and Kushina appear in front of her in swirls of flames. "You're late from school. What took you so long getting home and where are the others?" Kushina asks. The small blue-haired girl looks back and forth at her mothers. The renowned Crimson Death is wearing an apron and is covered in flour. The notorious exile of the Nara clan is wrapped in a towel and still has wet hair from her shower.

Hinata takes a deep breath and gathers her thoughts. She looks up at her mothers again and says slowly, "Iruka and Mizuki discovered a prank that is physically impossible for us to have done as a family, yet they blamed us anyways. There were chicken feathers packed inside the academy room ceiling along with paint cans and rope. Even if we were responsible, which I am not admitting in any way shape or form, the academy teachers Mizuki and Iruka are both Chunin. If they can allow that much stuff to get into the ceiling undetected for as long as it was up there, then they are not suitable to be our teachers." She stares at her parents with her large red eyes and holds her hands in front of her, awaiting their judgment.

Yoshino and Kushina exchange glances and the red-haired woman asks her daughter, "They gave you detention?" Hinata nods.

The shadow-using mother inquires, "They have no proof, fingerprints or otherwise, that can conclusively prove that your siblings were involved?" Hinata nods again. "Was it Naruto's idea?" Hinata smirks but does not respond more than that. Kushina murmurs something that sounds suspiciously like 'like father like son' under her breath. "Thought so," Yoshino sighs dramatically. "I suppose we should go round up the kids before the teachers find them."

Hinata's eye veins bulge slightly and she murmurs, "That's okay. They're here." Her eyes go back to normal and the other children rush in through the open door, slamming it behind them. Shino leans his back against the door with Choji and Shikamaru on either side of him. The three boys are panting. Kushina reaches under her apron and slides out her katana.

"Out of the way, boys," their mother orders. They hurriedly obey Kushina's order. She gets into a defensive stance and waits. A few moments later, Mizuki and Iruka rush through the door, only to find themselves at the wrong end of a very sharp, blood-red katana. "A pleasure as always, Iruka, Mizuki. What are you two doing trespassing on my property? You didn't even knock," Kushina speaks in a smooth voice.

They gulp hard. Yoshino bites her lip to stop from laughing when she notices the large wet spot on Mizuki's pants and the bruises and cuts covering his face, pants, and battered Chunin vest. Iruka pants heavily and says between breathes, trying to speak as slowly as he can to avoid getting cut by the blade, "Your children were all in detention under suspicion of orchestrating an attempt to disrupt the classroom activities and to cause harassment to their teachers and classmates. They escaped and we came to return them to class." The red-haired mother shifts her sword's grip to press the safe end in their direction.

"Two Chunin cannot restrain a couple of children? That is not speaking well of our ninja training, is it? Do you have any solid proof that my children were involved in this particular…prank?" Kushina inquires with a dark frown on her face. The flat end of the blade presses lightly against the teachers' skin. They start breathing very shallowly and appear to be very uncomfortable.

Mizuki answers, "No, ma'am, but we know they did it!"

Yoshino gazes at him impassively, her giggle fit suitably restrained. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

Iruka responds for his subordinate, "They have a history of pranking the classroom and we as teachers. It is logical to assume that they were also behind this prank. Also, the sheer volume of materials uncovered would require a cooperative effort of many people, children or otherwise, just to get it into the place that we discovered it. Nobody but your children could have done it." Akamaru growls at the instructors, his red fur standing up on end. Kiba pats him on the head, but his own fingers are curled up into claws.

"They put us in catra taking away chains too!" Naruto announces with his hands on his hips. "But those were Master Mizuki's idea."

Sakura frowns, "It's chakra, Naruto, but you're right. It was Master Mizuki's idea to chain us up without proof that we did anything!"

Kushina's grip shifts again. The razor-sharp edge is now pressing against their throats, drawing a few droplets of blood. "You put our children in chains like common criminals with only circumstantial proof and speculation? So, let me get this straight if you please, you two _Chunin_ have no proof, allowed such a prank to get as far as it did despite your ninja training, put innocent children in _chains_, and then barged into my house with nothing but excuses to your own ineptitude? I will have to speak to the Hokage about this. Get out of my house," Kushina states coldly.

Mizuki protests, "But—"

Shikamaru steps forward with his arms crossed over his chest. His shadow shakes below him. He says in a bored tone, "I believe Mommy Kushi just asked you to leave." Mizuki shivers at the sight of the shadow and takes a few steps back warily. Iruka nods quickly and backs away from the sword, pulling Mizuki out the door behind him.

Iruka bows to the two women and says, "I apologize for the inconvenience. I will make sure that I have indisputable proof next time that we meet. The chains were completely past the line. I will never allow Mizuki or myself to go that far again. Please accept my apology."

"I will accept your apology," Yoshino smiles icily, "after we speak to the Hokage. Have a good day, gentlemen." They bow to her and quickly hop onto the wall and then across rooftops outside of the Uzumaki compound.

Kushina wipes her blade clean with her apron and sheathes it. She smiles at her children, "Now to speak to the Hokage. Next time, don't get caught or don't pull the prank, okay?"

The children answer in unison, "Yes, Mommy Kushi."

"You're all grounded for a week for giving your teachers a hard time," Yoshino says as she sits down at the kitchen table. A wide smile sneaks onto her face. "Now tell me what really happened. I want to hear all about it." The children and Kushina sit down at the table and they start their story of exactly what happened, beginning with Naruto's idea and ending with the teachers running away from the two scary mothers.

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Read and Review! Look up Splash-of-Color's work, AvalonNakamaru, and Joshua the Evil Guy. they have good work.

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	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**At the Hokage Tower the Next Day: **

The Hokage puffs his pipe silently with Mizuki and Iruka side by side to his right and two very upset mothers to his left. "Iruka, you should have known better," Sarutobi says. "I am disappointed in you. You were an outcast as a child and alone because of your father's death. I expected you to handle the orphaned Uzumaki children much better." Kushina raises an eyebrow at the 'orphaned' term but decides to let it slide.

Iruka looks crestfallen at his mentor's criticism and his own guilt. He bows low, "Please forgive me, Lord Hokage. I will do better if I am given the chance." He turns and bows to the mothers as well. "I am sorry that I have allowed the rumors and opinions of others to treat your children with disrespect. Please forgive me." He adds mentally, '_And please let me live!_' The mothers are both in full ninja attire with swords hanging from their belts.

Keeping her hand on the hilt of her katana, the red-headed mother smiles, "I will accept your apology when changes are made if you continue being the teacher."

Yushino adds pointedly, "My children will not be taught by that…worm…another day." She points a finger at Mizuki. "He is worthless as a teacher!"

The Hokage nods his head slowly, "Iruka, you are going to keep your job. Please learn from your mistakes. Mizuki, I was getting to you, but Lady Yoshino beat me to it. You are relieved of teaching duty and are going to be placed on guard duty of the gates of Konoha from now on."

The mothers smile and bow slightly. "Thank you for justice, Lord Hokage," Lady Kushina answers politely.

Iruka shrugs apologetically to his helper, but the last punishment to the prank opened his eyes to Mizuki's heart towards the Uzumaki children. Mizuki shivers with rage. "I am forced to put up with demons every day, trying to keep them from polluting the rest of the students, and I am the one who is relieved of duty? This is wrong, Lord Hokage!" Mizuki snaps.

The Third Hokage watches him for a long moment before saying anything. "Mizuki," he begins. "You know the law concerning them. You know what happens to those that openly violate that law." Mizuki has time to turn around and try to hold up his hands to defend himself as twin katanas run through his palms and deep into his chest. The Uzumaki women push it all the way out the other side of him with vicious glares. "I'm sorry, Mizuki, but you should have left well enough alone," the Hokage finishes sadly, shaking his head. Mizuki lets out a final breath before collapsing to the ground. Blood runs out onto the wooden floor. The two swords are yanked from the corpse, wiped off, and sheathed. Iruka observes the scene in horror.

Kushina moves in close to Iruka until they are nose to nose. Whispering, she says, "My children are precious to me. More precious then the very villagers that we have sworn to protect. I will not allow the hatred directed at their prisoners to be misdirected at them in my presence. Are we clear on that, young Iruka?" He nods quickly but his face is pale. Despite being so close to Kushina, he can't take his eyes off of the corpse of his comrade.

Yoshino sees his reaction to Mizuki's death and responds, "Iruka, look at me." When he does, she tells him, "You have always been taught that comrades are important. They are what make up the bond of this village. But, you were taught wrong. Family is the bond that makes up this village. We are all brothers and sisters. Our children should have taught you that already. Each taken from a different clan, but all working together as family to defend what they cherish. Learn, Iruka." She gestures to the body. "Or end up like your friend here. Kushina, let's go." They look to the Hokage for permission before walking out the door and slamming it behind them.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that, Iruka," the Third Hokage states gravely. "But they are right. He knew the consequences for breaking the Law of the Fox Children."

"But, sir!" Iruka protests.

"No buts!" the Third cuts him off. "See the body of your helper? He was a traitor to this village. He killed his comrade in a combat situation because they were slowing him down. We have been observing him for quite some time now and were hoping that he would change. He obviously did not."

Iruka is too shocked by all of the events happening around him to take it in. He nods numbly. Sarutobi sighs sadly, "Go home and rest, Iruka. You have the week off. Consider Mizuki and learn from his poor example of a comrade." Iruka nods again and leaves without a word. "Poor boy," Sarutobi rubs his eyes and leans his head against his hand. "I hope that he will learn to understand." Anbu appear to carry the body away and a secondary squad appears for the cleanup.

**At the Uzumaki Estate: **

Naruto downs bowl after bowl of ramen with Choji and Kiba. Naruto belches loudly and scratches the back of his head as he grins. "Now that's a manly burp!" Kiba announces proudly, smacking him on the back. Akamaru barks in agreement from his coat, slurping up any ramen noodles that fall out of the bowl.

In the back tending to the garden, Sakura rolls her eyes and continues watering the plants. "What is it, Sakura?" Ino inquires, noticing her sister's ears twitching again.

Sakura sighs, "Just boys being boys. Hey, Ino, have you noticed that there are no guys in this village that Koan and Kumiho say are worthy of us? It's getting kind of depressing, actually."

Ino sighs too, "I know. But think of it this way: there has got to be someone out there that is on par with us, right?" Sakura shrugs and continues her gardening. "Hey!" Ino suddenly exclaims, "Remember Uncle Kakashi?" Sakura nods as she reaches for a garden hoe. "Mom says that he was once called the hottest guy in the village before he put that mask on. He's still single." Sakura just stares at her sister for a long moment.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," she states simply. Ino giggles before continuing the work.

Sitting on the roof, Hinata watches the nearby Hokage tower. She watches as a heat signature grows cold. She thinks, '_I guess Mizuki got what was coming to him. Idiot.'_ Huli speaks up, **"Why didn't we just tear out his throat when we first discovered his plans? He had us in chains and planned to manipulate us! Ino told us so!" **"No," Hinata replies mentally, "Mothers took care of it. I wouldn't let anything serious happen to us. None of the others would either." Huli the Four Tails shakes her head and wraps her tails around like a nest in the mindscape. **"Stupid humans and their laws." **

**At the Aburame Clan's Estate: **

Shino waits patiently at the gate before a guard leads him into the biggest hive-like building housing the Aburame Elders. Once he stands before them, an elder calls out, "What is your business here, young Shino? Your mothers told us that you had something to tell us."

"I understand that you could not raise me due to my…unusual chakra signatures and the bugs that live inside of us. Am I correct?" Shino inquires politely. When they nod, he continues, "I have acquired bugs of my own. The unusual chakra has increased their abilities and mutated them into another species of ant. One that can fly. I have but one request." He takes another breath while they wait for him to continue. "I would like to be given counsel on how to communicate better with my bugs and use them for ninja tasks. I am also understand that each Aburame child is given this instruction. If you indeed have no prejudice against me for what I contain, I request you give me this instruction." He waits in the center of the room, gazing up at the honeycomb-like structure. The elder's seats are in various grooves in the walls where their bugs have tunneled to accommodate them.

Finally, the leading Elder announces, "We have deliberated, Shino Uzumaki, and have decided to give you formal training. We will send a tutor to your estate on appointed days for your training. However, we must have your word of honor that you will not reveal what you learn to any that would seek to do the clan or village harm."

"You have my word," Shino states in a monotone voice. "Thank you for your time." He bows slightly and leaves the room without bothering to wait to be dismissed.

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Read and Review! I finally have had both the time and inspiration to write this much.


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